Daylight
by Beckon
Summary: She hummed quietly in approval before she moved to lightly tuck her finger against the child's cheek, watching as the girl turned her head into the touch. "Just look at her… the General's daughter; she's going to have fun dealing with that label."


The cool, early morning air was a nice change compared to the hectic night that had just ended.

Calill had insisted that she needed some time to rest and recover and insisted that he probably needed some time as well; she even joked a bit that he probably didn't want to be around her after some of the things she had said during the night. And while he remarked that none of it was taken to heart in the first place… they probably did need their separate space for the time being.

However, it was his insisting to take care of the reason for the chaotic night.

After almost nine months of waiting, it was a girl.

Tightly bundled in a white blanket, she oddly fit in the bend of his arm- barely covering the length of his forearm. She was calmly snuggled in and fast asleep now; tiny fingers curled lightly in the thin material surrounding her. From the few strands of blue hair that covered her head, she would definitely be taking after him in that aspect- although her mother had been quick to note that she passed up on some fine blonde genes. The soft blue shade of her eyes matched her mother's though, very light and smooth while his were darker and coarse.

It was still hard to believe she was here… that she was real.

If someone had told him three years ago that he'd be here, sitting out on the porch of his home, holding his newborn daughter while his wife rested upstairs… he wouldn't have believed them. Three years ago they had been fighting for their very own existence and now… here was the aftermath of such. Between rebuilding cities and relations between the countries, there was a wedding and between having to escort the Crimean Queen from country to country was building a home. The few free days in between the travels were used to make up for lost time, and once the first year had passed and things calmed down, there were loose talks and discussions.

Then there was a positive reading and things became hectic all over again.

It went from royal business with the Senators to traveling to meet with family and share the good news. It went from worrying about making deadlines to worrying about being ready and panicking over minor health scares. Sleepless nights used to be caused by work, but now it had been because if she couldn't sleep, neither could he.

That was behind them now though, which only meant a new door was opening for them.

There would be plenty of time to worry for such later though, right now… he just wanted to take in the moment for what it was worth.

It was still odd to hold her.

Three years ago, it had been chaos and mayhem going from battlefield to battlefield all across Tellius. They had been beaten down numerous times, but somehow always managed to claw their way back to the top. It hadn't been an easy ordeal for anyone… they all carried scars from those battles. He couldn't count all the people he had killed- he preferred not to. It just made it difficult to look down at this sleeping form in his arm and remember all of those falling figures. He carried the taint of war on his hands and yet… he carried this little girl in those same hands.

The transition of going from a time of war to a time of peace was the most difficult. It was hard to grasp the realization that they didn't have to be alert at all times now, that they didn't have to worry about someone attacking them in the middle of the night. And once that struggle had settled, it only seemed to introduce more to the mix. Some people just… never seemed to leave the battlefield; they were always stuck in that open sense of panic. Physical scars were one thing, but mental ones never seemed to heal. He had seen it destroy people… And he would be far from the truth if he didn't admit he had a few of those scars himself. They weren't easy to manage, but… it was doable. It was easier at some points and tougher at others, but it always helped if he had something to distract himself with. Which was why all the running back and forth between countries seemed to help. At least now he had something else to pay attention to.

She cooed quietly in her sleep and nestled herself further into the blanket; fingers pulling together for a moment to form tiny fists.

He kept brushing his fingers against the soft curve of her cheek, watching how she'd turn her head with the motion… he still needed that reassurance that she was real. That she was actually here. And every time he came to that realization, he felt this sense of heaviness in his chest. Not the same kind of heaviness when faced with a losing battle, but… more in the sense of pride and indescribable relief. Because she was perfect and he'd make sure that she'd never have to experience a war in her lifetime.

It was difficult to realize that he was essentially holding the most innocent thing this world had right now; she was part of the new generation that would only hear about the wars without actually experiencing one.

"Well?"

The question was slow to pull him from his thoughts and he had to force himself to take his eyes off the slumbering newborn. He glanced up briefly to where his blue-haired sister had pulled herself up onto the porch railing and seemed content with hanging there for the time being. He chuckled briefly at her awaiting expression before he looked back to the child.

"You know, that's why I had to replace that railing a couple of months ago." he remarked.

"What are you trying to say?" Lucia asked.

"… You know, I've been walking on eggshells for awhile now, I probably won't elaborate."

She chuckled and eventually pulled herself up just enough to swing her legs over the railing, landing her feet more solidly- and quietly- on the porch floor. "Hey, I didn't walk all the way from the fence just to get some around-the-question answers."

That would explain why he never heard her approach.

"A girl."

And he could see the gentle fall of her expression; the sudden overwhelming sense of happiness at the news. Lucia was never an overly emotional person, often times preferring something short and sweet, or something sarcastic and brash depending on the situation. But here, she was just at a loss and unable to hide it all. She tried to keep her steps quiet as she walked over and carefully peeked over to see the bundled form- as though knowing that he wasn't willing to hand her over just yet.

"Just look at her…" she started, her voice low for the time being. "She's going to look like me."

"I hope not." Geoffrey replied, feeling the way she partly dug her knuckles into the soft portion of his left shoulder.

"What's her name? And please tell me you didn't go with Lady Delbray's idea."

Lady Delbray had been ecstatic over the news, which was a drastic change from three years ago when she had been only slightly accepting of their marriage; she had an issue with him marrying a widowed barmaid, but he had been quick to correct her on that. Regardless, three years appeared to had changed her mindset on it, although the prospect of a grandchild might've really helped that matter. She had suggested something along the lines of naming the child after a family member- of course the ones she named had either been notorious for… rather illegal deeds unbeknownst to her, or the names were far too complicated for their taste.

"Alea." he answered.

Lucia hummed quietly in approval before she moved to lightly tuck her finger against the child's cheek, watching as the girl turned her head into the touch. "Just look at her… the General's daughter; she's going to have fun dealing with that label."

The General's daughter… yeah, that was quite a title.

"Calill upstairs?" she questioned.

"Yeah, she said she wanted to rest for awhile." he replied. "She was up most of the night."

"Ah, then yeah… give the woman some rest." she chuckled quietly, before she placed one hand against his shoulder. "So how long am I going to have to wait before I can hold my little niece here?"

"Come back in ten years." Geoffrey started before he felt her knuckles again. "Alright, alright… five years."

She snorted slightly and he chuckled as she pressed her lips together in that look that said there was no way in hell she was even walking off of this porch without holding the child at least once. Drawing in a deep breath, he carefully lifted the bundled child from his arm and made sure she had secured her hands around the girl before he let go.

"Oh goodness, look at you." Lucia cooed softly, fingers toying with the few strands of thin hair. "She's cute… too cute really, she's going to be giving you a lot of problems in the future."

"And I'm probably going to be giving her just as many."

She laughed and lightly bounced the child in her arm. "No courting boys for you." she replied, listening to the soft coo in response. "I can't tell you how difficult it was for me to slip out of the palace. Everyone wanted to know, everyone wanted to come over and… I had to put a sleeping potion in their wine the night before just to get them off my back."

"Well, have fun explaining that one to Elincia."

"Oh… she'll probably be here in like ten minutes- which the Royal Knights will use as an excuse to come over as well. I'm just going to act innocent here with my little niece."


End file.
